


Anomalous

by moon_opals



Category: Black Panther (2018), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Black Panther (2018) Spoilers, F/F, Fluff, Gen, Post-Black Panther (2018)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 05:13:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13733868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moon_opals/pseuds/moon_opals
Summary: Shuri knew brilliance when she saw it. Where Riri Williams was concerned, she didn't consider the unexpected in her calculations.





	Anomalous

As a teacher at the Wakanda Information and Science Outreach Program in Oakland, California, Shuri was responsible for cultivating and nurturing brilliance. She always carried a sharp eye for it, her mother said; admittedly, she could spot it in the center of a person’s eye like a blistering star in the deep vacuum of space.

She surmised this was a consequence of being raised among the brightest men and women on the planet, a minor consequence if her theory was accurate. 

In Wakanda, opinions and ideals occasionally clashed, but the facts, their truths ultimately ruled at her lab. Voices were singular, all determined for the betterment of their country, of their people. America was different. Their voices were many, a giant mob of variety. She stared back into their confused, reluctant faces. She suspected the thoughts floating in their heads. With those stares, she spotted stars twinkling cautiously, and she didn’t try to stop her grin from spreading.

* * *

Word spread quickly with the Internet. _Ain’t she some princess,_ she heard them whisper behind her back.

Anticipating these words, she spun around with a quickened tongue and sharpened mind, _“I’m not some princess. I’m the princess, and my name is Shuri, get back to work.”_ Their dark faces flushed beautifully as their peers laughed and patted them on their back, but she knew a quick come back was required. They respected her intellect, everyone did eventually --- this could not be avoided. There was something more she wanted from them, something she didn’t want to say aloud, and wasn’t sure if she’d ever earn it.

“I need you look at something for me.” A manila folder fell on the desk, prompting her to look behind her. When she faced the speaker, Shuri didn’t know what to say. She was used to seeing stars. They were faint but clear, a receding light in the back of their heads. But looking at this girl there was nothing faint about her. She stood tall with her hands stuffed into her jacket pockets --- despite the February heat, and stared, _no_ , examined Shuri, awaiting her response.

“It depends.” She crossed her arms, ivory teeth sparkled under the lights, “What am I going to be looking at?”

Her name was Riri Williams.

Quiet, observant, and a little tedious at times, always the questions – always picking at her silently, she was brighter than she appeared, Shuri deduced. She was more than a little relieved when the girl finally approached her. 

Shuri wouldn't admit to waiting in silence. It sounded desperate, holding her breath in the shadows to be approached when she, Princess Shuri of Wakanda never waited, never shied from confrontation.

As Riri stomped off on the sidewalk, prompting Shuri to follow, the spark that led to this development, those dangling suspicions, was left to flourish. Her intuition was reliable, and that was that. 

“I live a block away from here. Near the corner store.” Her serious mold cracked to reveal an easy smile, “My mom and aunt are at work right now, so we shouldn’t have any disturbances.”

“You know you haven’t told me anything about what you’re planning to show me.” She couldn't stay for more than fifteen minutes.

“I know.” On her right side the dimple of a nickel protruded as her cheeks raised, “But I kind of want it to be a lowkey surprise, and I know you won’t be impressed, and it’s pretty awesome.”

Shuri barked, “It takes a lot to impress me.” 

* * *

“I am impressed.”

“No, you’re not.” Riri closed the garage door and rounded to the other side where the suit was propped up on a metal table, “I know that look. You’re not impressed.”

Shuri shook her head, “I am impressed,” her attempt to maintain a neutral composition failed miserably as she broke into a fit of giggles, “…with how bad it looks…where’d you get this stuff, form the junkyard?”

“Actually, yes!” Riri laughed, shoving her. Shuri bit the side of her mouth, tasting the slight rusty flavor of blood slithering on her tongue, “Finding those parts were a pain in the ass.”

“If you knew this, why bring me here?”

“I don’t know.” Her laughter reminded Shuri of the great moon, and when she gazed at her, eyes lidded, her stare was the like the rising sun ready to take on the world’s chores, “An honest critique without an audience?”

There was something honest about her posture. Almost ashamed to have brought her here, a princess in her run down home, she shrugged regretfully. Her bottom lip struck out in a pout. Her defiance was equally inevitable, daring Shuri to say more, and all she could do was smile, laugh lightly as she stepped to the poorly armored suit.

“The design is not terrible..” She nodded thoughtfully, “It’s the material, and you can find better things at the center.”

“I want to keep this project under wraps.”

“Why?”

“If my mom knew about this,” she gestured to the suit, “she'd demand I tear apart. She lost a lot when Pops died, and I don’t want her to worry about this.”

“So you keep it here?” She surveyed the unstable walls, the dirty floor, “It’s the perfect hiding place, right in the home. Where’d you keep it?”

“In my bedroom. I dragged it down.” Her teeth worried her bottom lip. Shuri watched, transfixed, as the chipped canine gently gnawed on the tender, puffy flesh. A slip, a minor one at that, and the skin could very well break.

“We should take it to the center.” She tapped the metal skeptically, “But I fear it may fall apart on the way. You put this away, honestly, it’s unsightly, and we’ll come back to pick it up.”

* * *

“You will have access to my labs during the available hours.” She smirked at her and ripped an arm off. Riri audible gasp made her chuckle, “Don’t worry, this is why you’re here. You can rebuild it, bigger, better. What did that old American show say? You have the technology.”

“Yeah, I have the technology.” As angry as she was for the destruction of the arm, she shook her head, laughing lightly as she worked, “I wanted it to be mine. My mom and I are visiting MIT next month. I could get in.”

This project couldn't be made public. She didn't dare confide in T'Challa just yet. It might have been greed, selfishness on her part. She wanted to keep her discovery all to herself. She knew this brilliant star, this anomaly among her students, would rise without her. She giggled, pinched the girl's warm, feeling the tender goosebumps on her skin, and licked the back of her front teeth as she pulled back, slapping her hand away. 

It would end, whatever this was. Her heart swelled with disappointment. 

Riri's thick hair styled in what she called boxed braids bounced stiffly on her shoulders as she roared with laughter.

“You can't escape me so easily, Ms. Williams.” She muttered as she watched on the sidelines as the girl started to remove the suits body parts. She would start from the ground up, she claimed, leaving Tony Stark a relic in the past, “And don’t forget, if you’re going to impress anyone, it’s going to be me.”

“Trust me, I know, and I’m excited to do that.” Sweat beaded above her eyebrows, and snaked along her neck. The muscles in her arms flexed as she lifted the metal, “And you’re going to be in the audience when I do.”

Shuri knew brilliance when she saw it, and the second Riri Williams’ dark smile teased at her, she realized she wasn’t observing twinkling stars but was the witness to construction to one of the world’s brightest stars. Great, dark, and incandescent, her smile deepened, and something in her stomach fluttered in knots.

_It appears I have created my competition,_ her head leaned against the wall, a sweet taste filled her mouth, _I like it._

**Author's Note:**

> I am not saying Riri should join the MCU, but I'm totally saying Riri should join the MCU.


End file.
